FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It was the start from hell in the wrong place to come out off-kilter.

Injury-riddled Toronto FC fell for the sixth time in nine Major League Soccer matches this season, 3-1 on the rainy turf at Gillette Stadium.

Toronto has only won twice here since entering the league in 2007 and New England came out looking very much like a home powerhouse.

The visitors immediately found themselves under siege, with Alex Bono being left all alone far too often.

New England consistently got behind TFC’s patchwork defence and Cristian Penilla opened the ledger in the fourth minute after being sent in by Hamilton’s Teal Bunbury, who had pounced on a bad TFC mistake.

The trouble continued and another rough gaffe gifted Penillo more precious space after Bono was put in a precarious spot. Bono tried to bring the ball out of trouble but TFC was hemmed in and couldn’t clear. Penilla, the Ecuadorian international lofted in his second goal of the match before Bono could scramble back, much to the delight of the 19,596 on hand, including Revolution/Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who watched from his box.

“We gifted away goals early in the first half and getting down on the road 2-0 is a horrendous start,” said head coach Greg Vanney after his club lost its sixth game, more than the league champions totalled last season.

“Also, just the way we give up goals, it’s unacceptable. I think we’re now -9 in the first 15 minutes of the first half and of the second half and that’s something we took a lot of pride in last year, but, for whatever reason — not whatever reason — it will stop happening, but we’ve got to stop giving up goals in the first halves of the games or (the start) of the second half. Playing from behind is not the position we want to be in and we have been in it too often,” he said.

Bunbury nearly scored himself, but a hustling Bono came way out to deny him and Bunbury’s follow-up cross was headed off the side of mesh.

Diego Fagundez got yet another great New England chance, waiting out a couple of defenders, before blasting a shot at Bono, that the ’keeper did well to block.

TFC finally got a good chance when Jay Chapman sent Tosaint Ricketts in alone. Revolution goaltender Matt Turner made a nice save to prevent the game from getting mildly interesting and continued to shine as TFC rallied to get off five of six shots following New England’s initial surge.

New England led 2-0 at halftime, though both sides felt they could have been in better shape had a few bounces gone their way.

Any thoughts of a quick start to the second half to get back in the game evaporated immediately for TFC. Bunbury rampaged past a couple of TFC players to finally beat Bono.

The Reds finally got on the board in the 55th minute on an Antonio Dalamea own goal.

Sebastian Giovinco made it 3-2 on a penalty kick in the 89th minute, then got booted from the game for grabbing the face of Wilfried Zahibo after Zahibo had grabbed his arm while Giovinco carried the ball back to the middle of the field.

Vanney said his club needs to be more disciplined, but added he isn’t sure why a similar play last week that resulted to a TFC player dazed on the pitch didn’t lead to a straight red, but this one did. Giovinco, who rarely seeks out the media to chat post-game, felt the same way. Captain Michael Bradley said the call was by the book, but he wished the referees had more leeway and weren’t so “black and white.”

Giovinco will now miss Friday’s home date with Orlando and is clearly frustrated by how things have unfolded so far.

“We lost almost every game, the mentality is not in a good way and I think we have to change if we want to make (the) playoffs,” Giovinco said.

“Now it’s too many games we lost. It’s no good and I think we have to change direction, we have to change everything.”

Bradley was also clearly frustrated and made it clear Giovinco’s red card was merely a footnote.

The Reds knew striker Jozy Altidore and midfielder Nicolas Hasler would not play on Saturday, but had hoped some reinforcements would arrive. Instead, the starting XI was a jumble once more, with Bradley having to once again play centre back, this time alongside fellow veteran Jason Hernandez. Hernandez had a rough start, as did midfielder Ager Aketxe.

Vanney preferred a cautious approach, sitting Giovinco and Chris Mavinga on the turf for the first two-thirds of the game, as well as star left back Justin Morrow — who has missed six games but is expected back soon — for the entirety. Bradley’s centre back partner Gregory van der Wiel was also held out with an Achilles issue. Mavinga at least returned, first to the bench, and then to the field after a six-game absence. Midfielder Victor Vazquez, banged up on Wednesday against Seattle, checked in in the 70th minute as Toronto’s final substitution.

Mavinga’s return finally allowed Bradley to return to his crucial midfield spot with the club trailing 3-1.

Chapman nearly set up Hamilton in the 54th minute, resulting in the New England own goal.

Sensing an opportunity, Vanney’s first substitution was Giovinco, who promptly set up Hamilton with a perfect pass, but Hamilton’s finish was far too strong and sailed out of play.

CORNER KICKS

Had Dwane Casey’s Toronto Raptors found a way to get by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, this weekend would have featured TFC vs. New England, the Blue Jays battling the Red Sox and the Raptors hosting the Boston Celtics … The Reds fell to 0-5 when trailing at the break. Vanney had been hoping to see his side tally first, something that’s only happened three times in nine games now.

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